CKE Restaurants CEO comforts angry McDonald's customers; reassures Angus beef fans that Carl's Jr. and Hardee's remain committed to quality Black Angus burgers

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CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., parent company of Hardee's® and Carl's Jr.®, is offering understanding as well as continued, premium-quality Black Angus beef burgers to fast food fans feeling mcburned by McDonald's' recent discontinuation of their Angus Third Pounder burger line. Sympathizing with disgruntled McDonald's diners, today CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder offers coupons and feedback to customers via personal video messages posted to the brands' YouTube pages (www.youtube.com/carlsjr and www.youtube.com/hardees). In the video messages, Puzder guides Angus lovers through the premium burger competitive landscape and explains how Carl's Jr. and Hardee's were the first and now only major fast food brands to offer 100 percent Black Angus beef.

"To burger fans who care about quality - I hear you," said Puzder. "Our competitor has made a choice to drop its Angus burgers, but for customers focused on premium quality and taste, and not on less for less, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's welcome your grieving stomachs. We were the first to offer Black Angus in our Six Dollar Burger and Thickburger lines. Following McDonald's' decision, our bigger, better Black Angus burgers are not only the only Angus burgers available at any major fast food chain, but I can assure you that they are here to stay."

In addition to Puzder's video messages, the CKE CEO is reaching disappointed McDonald's customers via a full-page USA Today ad and a limited-time offer to enjoy Carl's Jr.'s and Hardee's' 100% Black Angus Six Dollar BurgerTM for less than McDonald's' axed Angus beef burger. The $1 off coupon is available for download at ReclaimYourAngus.com and comes with an implied virtual hug from Happy Star.

About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.

CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of fiscal 2013, the Company, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,318 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and 28 foreign countries and U.S. territories worldwide, including 1,369 Carl's Jr.® restaurants and 1,944 Hardee's® restaurants. For more information about CKE Restaurants, please visit www.ckr.com or its brand sites at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com.

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